Summer Solstice

​The summer solstice is this weekend for us in the northern hemisphere. It arrives in all its noisy, life-affirming cicada swarming glory here in the southwest of Ohio. The themes of the solstice - abundance, fertility, physicality, and vitality - are clearly noticeable in the natural environment. The cicadas have been a force to experience. The noise reaching to 100 decibels in our backyard, their wings catching the sunlight as they search for connection, and the piles of skeletons at the base of trees are an in-your-face reminder of the cycle of life. It’s been a rapid reminder that nature is the ultimate embracer of change and multiplicity. 

Since the spring equinox in March, we have seen lots of change in our collective experience. Mask mandates lifted, restaurants back to capacity, travel is on again, and gatherings of family and friends are coming back to our calendars. Last week I led an in-person masked meditation for a business retreat. It was lovely to see the group re-orient to being in person and it was also an honor to create space for the group to process what they had gone through in the last year and a half. Among the joy of re-opening is the grief of the lives lost and those still suffering from the impact of the pandemic - physically, emotionally, financially. We have been through a collective experience and it will take some time to process the meaning of its impact. Some of us may be ready to rush headfirst into this new phase and others may need more time to orient to this new normal. What can be certain is that each one of us will experience change. And that change may bring us together or find some drifting off into new directions. There is always a new normal to approach. Such is the rhythm of life. 

With the arrival of the summer solstice, we are reminded that everything in life depends on motion and change. The natural wheel turns continuously with small, consistent shifts that we hardly notice until WOW it's still daylight at 9pm. Solstice is the longest day of the year. Daylight dominates and then with the dawn of the new day we will begin the shift to less daylight and longer nights. Subtle, nuanced, small - sometimes indiscernible - action is nature’s way. What nature is not is binary - the wheel isn’t a straight line where we jump from solstice to solstice. Instead, nature is in continuous change. And when we tune into those changes, subtlety and nuance return to our world. The natural world models for us how to embrace the wholeness of who we are - abundant, life-affirming, vital, and multidimensional beings. 
 
We aren't binary or one-dimensional - so why do we accept society's reductionist views of ourselves?!  We are embodied souls with an abundance of complexity inside us. When we diminish ourselves to this or that we create a world that diminishes not only ourselves but others as well. How much we are in touch with our own emotions, depth and humanity is how much we can connect to another. If there are places we are afraid to go within ourselves, we will not be able to companion another when they find themselves in a similar albeit unique space. What would it mean for our natural world and our communities if we embraced our complexity and wholeness? How much more dynamic and engaging our world would be?! How would it be to know that all of you is welcome and not have to cut off parts of yourself to belong? Nature doesn’t ask us to do that, why do we do it to ourselves and others?

This summer solstice I invite you to use nature as your inspiration for life. Small steps, giant-every-17-years-steps, silent slithers, 100 decibel sirens, fertile underground life, colorful above ground blooming, soaring to cloud heights, burrowing underground, skeletons buried at the base of trees - what is it your soul desires in this embodied life? What does it whisper to you as you wake or lie down to sleep? What lies dormant in you that asks to be spoken, created, or shared? What needs to be given to the fire, the water, the land, or the clouds? Now is the time to tend to your inner world - in its full majestic splendor while our outer world is filled with the energy of change. Let nature guide you as you embrace the inner and outer dimensions of yourself so that you and your communities, lineages, and trusted and honored ancestors can flourish and be free.

Many blessings! 

Valerie